Children who cannot acquire a nationality from their parents The Global Action Plan notes that only about 60 per cent of the States in the world have laws that allow children born in their territory to acquire their nationality if they do not acquire any other nationality at birth. Even where such laws exist, their effectiveness depends to a great extent on accessible and fair procedures to determine whether a child has acquired a nationality or is otherwise stateless.11 UNHCR recommends that children who would otherwise be stateless are automatically granted nationality at birth. Given that some sort of assessment will be needed, there may be little difference between automatic attribution of nationality at birth (to a child who has not acquired another) and a process that requires an application for nationality. But if there are time limits within which such an application must be made, the difference can be significant, since a delay may lead to statelessness. An automatic attribution, on the other hand, could be substantiated at any point. In addition, it is important that the procedure is non-discretionary and not subject to conditions such as legal residence or the “good conduct” of the parent(s) or child. The determination of nationality is often particularly contentious following the succession of States, when sovereignty over a territory changes. In relation to those who are already alive at the date of succession, the basic rule recommended by the International Law Commission is that nationality should be attributed on the basis of habitual residence on the date that sovereignty changes, with a right to opt between different nationalities during a transitional period.12 Procedures should exist to resolve the cases of people of undetermined nationality promptly. For those born after the succession of States, the usual protections against statelessness should apply, including safeguards for children born in the territory who would otherwise be stateless (including if their parents are stateless or of undetermined nationality as a result of the change in sovereignty). Since the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, Latvia and Estonia have gradually adopted reforms that allow the children of former Soviet citizens whose nationality has remained in question to obtain nationality more easily based on birth in their territory. In Latvia, since 2011 an application for nationality of the child of “Latvian non-citizens” (those residents who were formally citizens of the Soviet Union but are not Latvian nor citizens of any other country) can be submitted not only to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, but also to the civil registry office when registering the birth of the child. Since October 2013, the recognition of a child as a Latvian national is possible through registration of the birth by one parent. As a result, the number of children acquiring Latvian nationality by this route has greatly increased; between early 2013 and early 2014, it rose from 52 per cent to 88 per cent of births to “Latvian non-citizen” parents.13 Since January 2016, Estonia has provided for automatic attribution of nationality by naturalization to children of parents of “undetermined citizenship” (please see the country case study on pages 13-15). Procedures permitting children with unclear nationality or with weak links to any other State to acquire the nationality of the State of birth or residence are helpful in avoiding childhood statelessness. In the United Kingdom, for example, the British Nationality Act of 1981 makes provision for a child born in the country to be registered as a British citizen on application, if he or she “is and always has been stateless” and has been resident for five years (Schedule 2, paragraph 3). There is also a general provision permitting the Secretary of State to register a child as a citizen on application “if he thinks fit” (Section 3(1)).14 11 See note 3, UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness No. 4, Para. 20. 12 Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in relation to the Succession of States, with commentaries, International Law Commission, 1999. 13 Svetlana Djackova, Reduction of statelessness among children in Latvia, Latvian Centre for Human Rights, presentation at ENS Conference, 7 April 2015. 14 British Nationality Act 1981; Chapter 61, 30 October 1981, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b5b08.html. 4 CAMPAIGN TO END STATELESSNESS WITHIN 10 YE ARS